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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26840695">Old Habits</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnAnxiousMess/pseuds/JustAnAnxiousMess'>JustAnAnxiousMess</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Self-Harm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:52:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,249</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26840695</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnAnxiousMess/pseuds/JustAnAnxiousMess</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
      <p>Trigger Warning: Self-harming, mentions of blood, panic attacks. Angst.</p>
    </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Trigger Warning: Self-harming, mentions of blood, panic attacks. Angst.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He knew as soon as he did it that there was no way to back out. There was no undo button for life, he'd just have to deal with what he'd done and pretend nothing had happened.</p><p>Virgil inhaled sharply as he looked down at the tiny, insignificant looking scratch on his arm. It was the first time in years that he'd done it and yet all the familiar sensations came rushing back as if it had only been yesterday.</p><p>He stared at the scratch for a few minutes and then before he knew what he was doing another one appeared right next to it.</p><p>He gasped at the sharp sting but he couldn't seem to stop himself as once more the blade in his hand slid smoothly through his flesh, leaving behind beads of blood and damage that reflected the damage Virgil felt inside.</p><p>Virgils eyes shut as his hand moved almost automatically and began to nick at his arm, just small chicken scratches that were easy to conceal with long sleeves.</p><p>Eventually Virgil forced himself to stop and the razor in his hand clattered onto the counter next to the sink.</p><p>His eyes flitted up to the mirror and he locked eyes with his reflection. He shook his head in disgust as he whispered "So weak."</p><p>He'd been clean for years but at the first hint of stress he reverted back to his old habit.</p><p>He tore his eyes away from his reflection and looked down at his arm, tears slowly slipping down his face as he fully acknowledged just what he'd done.</p><p>He took a deep breath and ran his arm under the tap, wincing as the water made all his cuts sting but he didn't want them getting infected.</p><p>"Virgil? Are you in here?" a voice called and Virgil froze in alarm. He quickly double checked the bathroom door was locked before calling out in as normal a voice he could "Yeah, what do you want?"</p><p>"Patton told me to fetch you for dinner." came Romans voice again.</p><p>Virgil held back a sigh. The last thing he wanted to do was face the other three after breaking his clean streak.</p><p>Not only would he find it difficult to pretend everything was OK but he just knew that someone would end up bashing his arm which would just cause everything to come out.</p><p>"Tell Patton I said I'm not hungry and if I get hungry later I promise to eat." Virgil said and waited with bated breath for Romans response.</p><p>"Are you sure? It's homemade pizza tonight, surely you can't say no to one slice of Papa Pattons Pizza." Roman said, probably gesturing his arms dramatically Virgil thought.</p><p>"I'm sure. I'm not hungry." Virgil said in a slightly shaky voice as he pulled the sleeves of his shirt and hoodie down over his cuts.</p><p>"OK then guess that means more for me!" Roman exclaimed and Virgil rolled his eyes as he heard him prance away down the corridor.</p><p>He glanced around the bathroom, carefully slipping his blade into his pocket. He couldn't see anything that would clue the others into what he'd done so he unlocked the door and walked back to his room.</p><p>Once he was safely in his room he pulled out the blade and quickly hid it in his bedside table. That way it was out of sight but still within reach because Virgil knew that now he'd started again he wouldn't be able stop himself.</p><p>It was something he used to do daily but had eventually found other ways to cope and the fact he'd been more accepted by the group had definitely helped but after a whole three weeks jam packed with Thomas going to fan meet ups and going out with friends and working non stop Virgil had cracked under the pressure.</p><p>There had just been so much happening and Virgil had been working overtime, meaning he'd been unable to find time to help him relax after a whole day of constant stress.</p><p>He'd gone into the bathroom to splash his face with water to help him relax a little but before he knew what was happening there was a blade in his hand and a cut on his arm.</p><p>Virgil sank onto his bed, wiping tears from his face with the sleeve of his uninjured arm. The others had no idea what he used to do and he had no intention of telling them but now they were including him more he knew he wouldn't be able to hide as well as he used to.</p><p>He took a shuddering breath and flopped backwards, his teary eyes looking up at his ceiling as his mind tried to come up with ways to conceal what he'd done to himself. <br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>Patton glanced up with a smile as Roman walked into the kitchen but his smile faded slightly as Roman said "Virgil said he's not hungry right now and if he does get hungry then he promises he'll eat something."</p><p>"Did you tell him it was homemade pizza?" Patton asked and when Roman nodded a small frown worked its way onto his face. "That's odd. Even when Virgils said he's not hungry all I have to do is mention its my homemade pizza and he suddenly finds his appetite."</p><p>Roman shrugged and walked out of the room, almost colliding with Logan who came striding in with his usual serious expression.</p><p>"Patton, you haven't been feeling troubled in the past half an hour have you?" he enquired in a brisk manner laced with concern.</p><p>"No, I've been making pizza and I enjoy doing that. What's wrong?" Patton said, picking up on the concern in Logans voice and the way his eyes widened when he heard Patton was feeling OK.</p><p>"Thomas just seems to be greatly distressed right now despite me telling him to take a moment to just 'chill' as some would say."</p><p>Patton smiled slightly at Logans use of the word chill but was worried about what he was saying about Thomas.</p><p>"What exactly do you mean when you say distressed? As in what's Thomas doing?" Patton asked, turning off the oven so the pizza's didn't burn.</p><p>Logan sighed "Well he seems like he's close to tears and he was fidgeting a lot, rubbing at his arm and not being able to sit in the same position for long."</p><p>Patton started thinking, trying to figure out if there were any reasons for Thomas's behaviour and he had a sudden thought. "Virgil hasn't been his usual self recently, he actually turned down tonights pizza because apparently he's not hungry which is odd but maybe he's the reason Thomas is acting the way he is? It's not me or you and Romans hyped for the pizza so it's definitely not him which just leaves Virgil."</p><p>Logan was impressed by Pattons reasoning but his concern had mounted because he couldn't help but remember a small disagreement he'd had with Virgil earlier that day.</p><p>Virgil was doing his thing of making Thomas take in his surroundings, suspicious and wary of everything just in case, and Logan had suggested he take it easy because it was the same place they'd been to several times before and nothing had changed.</p><p>Of course Virgil immediately got defensive and said that if Logan thought he could do it better then he was welcome to try because Virgil was trying his best but that apparently wasn't good enough for some people.</p><p>Logan explained this to Patton who frowned. "Maybe I should go check on him, do you mind plating up the pizza's while I go do that?"</p><p>Logan gave Patton a small smile "I don't mind at all, go check on him."</p><p>Patton nodded his thanks and walked swiftly down the hall until he came to Virgils door.</p><p>"Virgil? Kiddo? Roman said you weren't hungry and I got a bit concerned."</p><p>Patton heard a small intake of breath from inside before Virgil responded "Yeah, I'm not hungry. I... Uh.... Still feel full from lunch."</p><p>Patton had a deep set frown on his face as he thought back to lunch and couldn't recall Virgil eating anything more than a single cookie. He knew Virgil couldn't have gotten full from that which meant one thing.</p><p>Virgil was lying.</p><p>"Virgil. I know that you aren't very good at talking about your troubles and stuff which I understand can be difficult however, you know how I feel about lying. Please don't lie to me, especially when we both know that you turning down my pizza is a sign something is wrong."</p><p>Patton heard a small sniffle from inside and then the loud click of the door being unlocked. He took this as an invitation and let himself in, his eyes scanning over Virgil immediately.</p><p>"I... I'm sorry for lying about not being hungry." Virgil muttered, his eyes on the floor and his bangs hiding half of his face.</p><p>"What made you feel like you had to lie to me kiddo? You know I'm always here for you." Patton said softly, putting a gentle hand on Virgils shoulder.</p><p>Virgil closed his eyes and whispered "I've done something stupid."</p><p>"Surely that's not true, nothing you do is stupid."</p><p>Virgil held back a sob. He couldn't bring himself to admit what he'd done. Not only did he not want to ruin Pattons opinion of him, he didn't want to say it out loud and make it real for himself.</p><p>He was still half in denial that it happened and he'd not looked at his arm since but the slight sting whenever the fabric of his sleeve brushed against the marks just enforced the fact they were still there.</p><p>"what is it you've done that's stupid in your eyes?" Patton asked after it was obvious Virgil wasn't going to say anything.</p><p>"I.... I...." Virgil stammered, his mind rapidly trying to come up with something believable.</p><p>"I shouted at Logan." he said, remembering how Logan had been trying to reassure him and he'd immediately snapped at him.</p><p>Patton pulled Virgil in for a hug. "Hey, it's alright. You don't need to worry about that, Logan understands you sometimes get a bit snappy especially when someone is criticising your actions. He's the very same way."</p><p>Virgil closed his eyes and bit his lip to stop himself sobbing. He felt ashamed at lying to Patton but he couldn't bring himself to see the disgust, pity or horror that would appear on Pattons face if he told him.</p><p>Patton pulled back and gave Virgil an encouraging smile. "Come on, let's go get some pizza. Logan should have dished it up by now."</p><p>Virgil reluctantly allowed himself to be lead towards the kitchen and kept his eyes downcast as he felt the gaze of Logan on him.</p><p>"Evening Virgil, how are you feeling?" Logan asked and Virgil bowed his head a bit more as he muttered "fine."</p><p>Patton and Logan exchanged looks, both of them knowing he wasn't fine but neither of them said anything about it.</p><p>Instead Logan handed Virgil a plate of pizza which the anxious trait accepted but hesitated for a bit.</p><p>"can I.... Can I take this back to my room? I just don't feel up to sitting with everyone tonight." he asked.</p><p>Patton frowned slightly but replied "Of course, if that's what you'd prefer but do make sure you eat it."</p><p>Virgil nodded and walked back to his room, shutting the door behind him with a sigh.</p><p>He placed the plate on the floor and sat next to it, tears running down his face. He hated that he'd given in but the urge to do it again was starting to creep up on him.</p><p>He shook his head and tried to push away the urge by distracting himself with his phone.</p><p>He scrolled through his Tumblr and froze as he noticed he had a few messages.</p><p>He clicked on them, hoping they'd provide some sort of distraction and at first it worked.</p><p>He answered a couple questions asking about his music taste and outfit and gave sort of helpful advice to someone who was feeling a bit nervous about going to a new school.</p><p>Then he stumbled across a question that brought back all the thoughts.</p><p>A person had asked if he'd ever self harmed and if he had, was he still doing so.</p><p>Virgil took a few breaths to calm himself but he didn't know how to respond. He had to respond in some way because he was doing an answering spree and the person who'd asked would notice if he didn't and might accuse him of avoiding the question.</p><p>He couldn't answer with the truth though, he couldn't risk that getting out into the community and making its way to Thomas or one of the others.</p><p>Virgil thought himself into a circle of never ending panic and threw his phone across the room, not caring if it broke or not.</p><p>He stood up, his body on autopilot as his mind was in chaos, and reached into his draw for the cold metallic tool he'd put there previously.</p><p>Virgil snapped out of his thoughts as his hand closed around the blade and he wanted to put it down but couldn't.</p><p>Once he did it he knew he'd end up regretting it but the sensation of it gliding through his flesh seemed to drive all his chaotic thoughts away, at least for a small period of time.</p><p>He rested it on his arm, still torn between doing it or not. He glanced around his room as tears began to well up in his eyes and he spotted the pizza. He couldn't bring himself to eat it anymore, he'd probably be sick but he didn't want to let Patton down.</p><p>Suddenly the door handle turned and he quickly stuffed the blade under his pillow and pulled down his sleeves frantically, trying to school his expression as Roman popped his head in.</p><p>"Patton mentioned you decided to have some of the pizza and I just wanted to.... Virge? Are you OK?"</p><p>Virgil forced a smile "Yeah of course I am. I was enjoying some peace and quiet before you burst in. You need to remember to knock."</p><p>Roman surveyed the anxious trait carefully, noticing the slight shimmer of tear tracks on his cheeks and wondering whether to bring it up. Virgil had always been very private with personal stuff and Roman didn't want to push him but he was getting the impression that Virgil was sort of hoping for someone to help.</p><p>Eventually Roman stepped into the room, shut the door behind him and said "I don't believe you. I don't think you're OK at all."</p><p>Virgil let out a nervous laugh. "What are you talking about? I'm fine Roman."</p><p>Roman approached Virgil with a small frown "No, you're not. You look as if you've been crying and you haven't insulted me once, somethings obviously happened so just tell me what's wrong."</p><p>Virgil forced his usual scowl on his face "I think you're too caught up in all your fantasy crap that you're starting to get confused. I'm fine!"</p><p>Roman let out a groan of frustration "Why won't you just let me help you? Why do you insist on always keeping things to yourself?"</p><p>"Maybe it's because that's what I'm used to! Years of solitude because nobody wants you around does that to a person! So excuse me for not sharing every fucking thing that I feel!" Virgil shouted then gasped as realised he'd said too much.</p><p>"See! Something has happened! And yes I know in the past we didn't support you or treat you appropriately but things are different now. We're here to help you so just tell me what's happened!" Roman responded loudly.</p><p>Virgil turned away, struggling to maintain his angry expression as he hissed "Everything is fine, get out and leave me alone."</p><p>Roman stared at Virgil for a few seconds before stepping closer and putting his hands on Virgils shoulders. "No, I'm not leaving! Not until you tell me what's happened."</p><p>Virgils body was shaking with what Roman thought was anger but suddenly he let out a choked sob and Romans eyes widened as he realised he was trying not to cry.</p><p>"Virgil, please, let me help." he whispered and Virgil turned slowly to face him, tears spilling down his cheeks.</p><p>No words were spoken as Virgil slumped into Roman who held him in a tight hug and let him cry everything out.</p><p>After a long while Virgil pulled away and murmured "I've just been really overwhelmed recently with everything that's been going on."</p><p>"You mean the meet ups and stuff?" Roman asked and Virgil nodded. "Well that's to be expected, these things can be stressful to all of us but I guess none of us really thought how much work it would give you to do. You should have said something sooner to one of us or even to Thomas. He would have broken up everything so there were short breaks every now and then so you weren't overwhelmed or overworked."</p><p>Virgil kept his eyes on the carpet, he'd thought about telling the others but they'd all been so excited, he didn't want to be the one who ruined everything so he'd kept quiet hoping he could just tough it out.</p><p>He'd been wrong about that though, the proof of that being hidden by his sleeve at the moment. </p><p>Roman seemed to pick up on his mood because he said "There's something else isn't there?"</p><p>Virgil shook his head, tugging the sleeves of his jacket and shirt down over his hands like he usually did when he was feeling particularly anxious.</p><p>Roman sighed "Don't make me go get Patton, you know he hates when people lie."</p><p>Virgil closed his eyes and fresh tears began to roll down his cheeks as he felt the guilt from before come back ten times as bad.</p><p>Roman waited for a response but got nothing so, true to his word he got up and walked over to the door to call for the others.</p><p>Virgil sat on the bed with a small sniff as he heard Roman telling the others what the situation was and he kept his eyes on the floor so as to avoid seeing their expressions.</p><p>"Kiddo? What's going on?" Patton asked, sitting down on the bed next to Virgil.</p><p>"Nothing I'm fine." Immediately sprang out of Virgils mouth before he could stop himself.</p><p>Patton breathed out heavily "Virgil, we both know that's a lie. You've been a bit off all day and lying will just make things worse in the long run."</p><p>Virgil sniffed and turned so his back was to Patton causing Roman and Logan to exchange shocked expressions.</p><p>Patton looked at Virgil for a few seconds, his eyes narrowed as he thought intently.</p><p>"Virgil, you have one more chance to tell me what's going on or I'll have to resort to drastic measures." he said in a serious voice.</p><p>Virgil continued to ignore him so Patton got up and walked out with a muttered "Stay here." to the other two.</p><p>Roman and Logan looked at each other in confusion, both of them concerned for the younger trait and what could cause him to ignore Patton like that.</p><p>Eventually Patton returned but he wasn't alone.</p><p>"What's this I heard about someone trying to steal my title as champion liar?" Deceit asked as he entered and spotted Virgil on the bed.</p><p>Virgil spun round, eyes wide as he spotted Deceit. "W.... What are you doing here?" he asked in a panicked voice.</p><p>"He's here because you keep lying to me and I want to know what's going on." Patton said with his arms crossed.</p><p>Virgil stood up and backed away shaking his head. "No. Get him out."</p><p>Deceit raised an eyebrow at Virgil, his mismatched eyes scanning over him critically. "You seem a little anxious Virgil, want to share why?"</p><p>Virgil forced a scowl on his face in an attempt to keep his panic at bay "Piss off!"</p><p>Deceit walked towards Virgil with his head tilted to the side "I wasn't expecting much hospitality from you but the hostility is unnecessary."</p><p>Roman glanced at Patton for reassurance as he didn't trust Deceit not to hurt Virgil and saw Patton was watching Virgil carefully, a small frown on his face.</p><p>Virgil backed up until he was against a wall and he shouted "Get away from me!"</p><p>Deceit stopped, a small frown working it's way onto his face as he thought out loud "You seem reluctant to let me near you which is expected but you seem less angry, more panicked. Tell me Virgil what has you so panicked?"</p><p>"Nothing!" Virgil blurted out and Deceit took a step closer, taking note of the way Virgil immediately tried to shrink away.</p><p>"that was obviously a lie, let's try something different." Deceit reached forward and grabbed hold of Virgil.</p><p>"Get the fuck off of me!" Virgil screamed and lashed out but Deceit managed to dodge and after a few minutes, Virgil stopped trying to lash out and broke down into heart-breaking sobs.</p><p>Deceit looked uncomfortable as he held the sobbing trait but didn't let go. "Tell me what's wrong Virgil" He whispered and Virgil mumbled "I don't know why I did it."</p><p>Deceit frowned for a second before letting out a gasp of shock. "Wait, I thought you stopped doing that a couple years ago?"</p><p>Virgil cringed away from Deceit and tried to make a run for it but Deceit wasn't having any of that. "Virgil! Did you start again?"</p><p>"N.... No." Virgil gasped out and Deceit let go of him in shock.</p><p>"Virgil.... You... You were doing so well." Deceit said in a hushed voice.</p><p>Virgil quickly darted away from Deceit and managed to run out of the room before any of the others could stop him.</p><p>He was running through the corridors, ignoring the shouts from the others for him to stop.</p><p>He couldn't bare to face them now, Deceit would tell them all about what he'd done and what he'd once again started doing.</p><p>He burst through a familiar door, his surroundings darkening as he kept running further towards the more inactive part of the mindspace.</p><p>He came to a stop as he found himself at a dead end and he collapsed on the floor panting while clutching his side where he had a stitch.</p><p>It was probably the most exercise he'd done in ages and he was exhausted. He knew there was no way the others would follow him so he was free to recover from the running.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Trigger Warnings: Self-harm</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Patton froze as he watched Virgil disappear through the door leading to the inactive part of the mindspace and he grabbed Roman before he could try to follow.</p><p>"Why are you stopping me?" Roman exclaimed.</p><p>"That door leads to the inactive part of the mindspace, if you go in your influence over Thomas lessens and there's a high likelihood of you getting lost." Logan said, also grabbing hold of Roman to stop him chasing after Virgil.</p><p>"But Virgil just...." Roman started and was cut off by Deceit.</p><p>"It's not the first time he's been there and it's likely it won't be the last. He used to go there to escape all the hostility from you lot and I first found out what he was doing because I stumbled across him there once."</p><p>Patton immediately turned his attention to Deceit. "What? What is it that he's started again?"</p><p>Deceit sighed. "Virgil used to self harm as a way to cope with everything. I came across him doing it in the inactive part of the mindspace and he tried to say it wasn't what it looked like but he couldn't lie to me. He was so distraught as he begged me not to tell anyone that I agreed, under the conditions that if he ever felt like doing something more extreme then he had to come to me first. He managed to find other ways of coping eventually and, until recently, was completely clean for a couple years."</p><p>Patton gasped in horror as Logan said "That's why Thomas was rubbing his arm earlier. That must mean he only started again today."</p><p>Romans eyes were wide as he muttered "That's what he was doing in the bathroom when I talked to him about dinner. It must be."</p><p>Patton was shaking his head, tears running down his face as he whispered "He told me he'd done something stupid and must have been trying to tell me but panicked and lied at the last second."</p><p>Deceit glanced around at all of the sides with a frown. He didn't particularly get on with any of them but he didn't wish to see any of them trying to go after Virgil because, not only would that have bad effects on Thomas, it would also just create a bigger mess in the first place.</p><p>He knew his way around the inactive mind space well enough that he could go in to find Virgil himself but there was a likelihood that he'd just run for it again.</p><p>"I have an idea." Deceit announced, rolling his eyes at the looks of mistrust on Logan and Romans faces.</p><p>"What's your idea?" Patton asked, wiping his face.</p><p>"Well, I know my way around the inactive mindspace well enough that I could find Virgil but if he saw me he'd make a run for it. What I could do is disguise myself as one of you to try and lure him out."</p><p>"No, we're not deceiving him like that! We're not like you." Roman responded immediately with a glare.</p><p>"Well, although I may not like you, that does sound like a plan that could work. If that is our only option then it's better than leaving Virgil to spend hours in the inactive part of the mindspace. That would only cause more issues." Logan stated, his face showing his reluctance.</p><p>Patton felt everyones eyes on him as they waited for his input. He was morality, the trait that helped Thomas understand right from wrong so his input in this would be the decider as to whether or not Deceit would go through with it.</p><p>The issue was Patton was conflicted. On one hand Patton hated lying and tricking people, the idea of doing that to lure Virgil out made him grimace. However, if Virgil stayed in the inactive mindspace there was no telling what effects it could have on both Virgil and Thomas.</p><p>The consequences, if Virgil found out they'd played a part in tricking him, would be horrific though.</p><p>Patton swallowed nervously and said "I don't think we should try and trick him, if he found out it would only make matters worse."</p><p>Deceit sighed "I guess that means I'll just have to go in like this and hope he doesn't make a run for it."</p><p>Deceit didn't stick around to hear what the others were saying, he walked straight through the door and began walking down the dark corridors.</p><p>It didn't take too long for Deceit to find Virgil, he rounded the corner and found him slumped on the floor, panting for breath.</p><p>"You can't just run away from your problems Virgil." he said in a soft voice that still made Virgil jump.</p><p>"W... What are you doing here? G... Go away!" Virgil panted, trying to get to his feet again but he'd exhausted himself from running so he merely collapsed again.</p><p>Deceit stepped closer and took a seat next to Virgil. "I'm here because three other traits can't come after you due to where we are. They're worried about you."</p><p>Virgil sent a half hearted scowl at Deceit. "I'm pretty sure I told you to go away!"</p><p>Deceit raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Fine, shall I go back and tell the others you wouldn't come out? That you just told me to go away? Because we both know that they'd try to come talk to you themselves."</p><p>"N... No they wouldn't. They wouldn't endanger Thomas like that." Virgil said, looking at his lap with a small frown.</p><p>"I'm not so sure of that. If it weren't for Logan and Pattons quick reflexes Roman would have burst in here after you and probably gotten lost. Even after it was explained why he couldn't follow you he seemed ready to run in and find you. None of them were particularly happy they had to rely on me to get you." Deceit said, watching as Virgils frown slowly faded to be replaced with a sad defeated expression.</p><p>"Even when I'm not there I'm a hassle." he mumbled to himself and Deceit felt like face-palming. </p><p>"That's not right. What that means is they care about you and are worried. Worried enough that they would risk Thomas's safety just to make sure you are OK. If I come out of here without you there's nothing that would stop them coming in to find you themselves."</p><p>Virgil still looked unconvinced and Deceit rolled his eyes. He was done trying to talk Virgil into coming with him. It was time to resort to the other tactic.</p><p>"Well I guess I'll just go back and tell them you didn't want to come out. They'll probably come to try and find you and get lost in the process and then everything will turn into one big mess. But I don't really care, it's not like they're my friends or anything, I could care less if anything happened to them." Deceit said, getting to his feet and starting to walk away.</p><p>"Wait!" Virgil cried out, his eyes wide in alarm. "d... Don't go."</p><p>Deceit stopped and looked round at Virgil with an unimpressed expression. "I have better things to do than baby sit you all day Virgil. I'm going back with or without you. Make your decision."</p><p>Virgil scrambled to his feet and mumbled "I'll go back with you" Deceit nodded and started walking back to the main mindspace, Virgil following behind him in silence.</p><p>Deceit opened the door and stepped out to see Logan and Patton sitting on a struggling Roman.</p><p>"There's no telling what that creepy snake face is doing to Virgil in there! Let me go!" Roman shouted and Deceit scoffed.</p><p>"If that's the thanks I get for helping return Virgil then I don't want to know how you'd act if I actually did something harmful."</p><p>The three traits jumped in surprise at his voice and immediately stood up at the sight of Virgil cowering behind him, looking as if he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.</p><p>"Virgil?" Patton asked as Deceit stepped out of the way and Virgil raised his head, his eyes darting from each of their faces before tears rolled down his cheeks.</p><p>"I.... I don't know why or how it happened! I... I'm s... Sorry." Virgil spluttered and Patton immediately pulled him in for a hug.</p><p>"There's nothing to apologise for kiddo, we don't need an explanation or reason. We just need to know if you're alright." Patton said holding Virgil tightly.</p><p>Logan and Roman joined the hug and Deceit stood awkwardly off to the side, rolling his eyes at the emotional main traits.</p><p>"Well, now that's sorted I'm gonna go compose a song about how much I hate you all or something. All this being nice is making me feel sick." he said and walked off ignoring the small laugh from Patton.</p>
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